NAV2015 export and edit custom RDL(C) report layout

Miklos_Hollender

So when I go to custom layouts, make one and export it, it makes an RDL file. Not RDLC. And I can edit that in SQL Server, but in Visual Studio 2012 not, as it opens in XML view. Tried using Claus's OfflineReport project then Solution Explorer -> Add Existing Item, still just XML view. So I cannot edit it in Visual Studio. SQL Server Report Builder works, but it is subpar (no Document Outline -> how do you find the CustAddr textbooks in order to add new fields to the Code.SetData?)

If I use the development environment and go View, Layout, it opens the standard layout, not a custom.

The only option would be to edit a custom layout would be to do it from the client i.e. Custom Layouts page. But that is what I cannot do because I don't have Visual Studio 2012 installed on the server. Only locally on my laptop. And I cannot run the NAV RTC client locally, only on the server due to the usual communication protocol mismatch etc. things, they are in different domains, different activedirectory or what is this thing called, I can run the development environment locally and connect to the server as it accepts NAV password authentication (formerly SQL Auth) but the client not.

(Note: behold the masterful wording of the article: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/librar ... 80%29.aspx it manages to dance around the issue by not mentioning at all how to open the RDL file in Visual Studio. It is excellent at giving the impression that it should be possible without literally doing so! =D> )

Miklos_Hollender

Note: manually changing the extension from RDL to RDLC does enable the opening in VS2012, and ctrl-alt-t does bring document outline, but still the website menu is missing in order to run a build and check for errors.

Googling is telling me RDL and RDLC are basically the same thing except there is some client-side data-binding in RDLC that enables Visual Studio to do some stuff. I guess that is why Website / Build is not displayed with such an RDL file renamed to RDLC!

I think I could live without that if someone could just promise that this export-RDL-rename-to-RDLC-edit-import is safe enough to base my invoices etc. on it without potentially losing days of work.

Miklos_Hollender

Aaargh, this doesn't actually work because the smallest mistake results in definition of the report is invalid report when running, without actually telling _what_ is wrong. I must ignore custom layouts and modify the build in.